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UW-Eau Claire online magazine for alumni and friends

Over a year of unprecedented challenge, change and achievement, Blugolds have continually shown what they're made of, teaching us all that it is often the toughest climbs that bring the sweetest summits.

Welcome to the second online edition of the Blugold View, a collection of stories highlighting the unforgettable year since our last issue. What can be found in this 2021 edition? 

  • Recognition and celebration of Blugold creativity and ingenuity pressing on through a global pandemic.
  • Glimpses at groundbreaking collaborative medical research made possible through UW-Eau Claire’s partnership with Mayo Clinic Health System.
  • Highlights of the progress made toward goals in equity, diversity and inclusion — the building blocks of an inclusive and anti-racist campus and community.
  • Updates on new people, places and programs — critical elements in attracting and retaining future Blugolds. 

As you click through the pages of this 2021 Blugold View Online, remember that every student success story, every incredible project, program or facility happens because we are a community of Blugolds who care deeply about education and about Eau Claire. On campus and beyond, the adopted motto of our Alumni Association is "Once a Blugold, always a Blugold," and being an active participant in the university community needn't end with your time as a student. Each inspiring story you will find here provides food for thought in the ways that you too can get involved, how you can make an impact with your time, talent and treasure. Great things happen when great people decide to make a difference. Connect with the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Foundation or contact foundation@uwec.edu to find out how.   

 

Beauty day and night

Hibbard Hall sunrise
Selika Ducksworth-Lawton

More progress despite more challenges

Throughout 2020, Blugold faculty, staff, alumni and students continued to prioritize the campus EDI goals , creating a new center, building an alumni network and forging community connections to support equity, diversity and inclusion.

student nurse administering covid vaccine

Responding to COVID-19

From early scrambles to develop online learning to the recent major campus contributions to vaccinating the campus and community, Blugolds have met every COVID-19 challenge head-on.

Biology lab student

Partnering with Mayo Clinic

Evidently, COVID-19 and its limitations on higher education is no match for the robust and cutting-edge spirit of innovation at UW-Eau Claire, where 2020 brought unseen advances in STEM and medical discovery.

Campus updates

For a year that in so many ways felt frozen in an alternative reality, things sure kept moving and shaking here at UW-Eau Claire. We have seen the Flesch Family Welcome Center progress near completion; the hiring of an experienced and energetic new vice chancellor for equity, diversity and inclusion and student affairs; investment in a large-scale sustainable public art project to beautify the landscape; exciting new partnerships; and the much-anticipated return of Blugold baseball to the varsity athletics program. 

And all that is just some of what happened, apart from our ongoing academic excellence — so much excitement to share! 

Updates + Announcements


New to Blugold Athletics: Women's lacrosse

Lacrosse players on the field

It has been such an honor to be entrusted with building the lacrosse program. We have come to compete, win and put UWEC on the map as a lacrosse program that makes sure our students have diplomas and championships. That is something I will never stop pursuing — that is what our students deserve.

Aubri Nuebert Women's lacrosse head coach

Tackling COVID-19: A photo diary of response

The following photo collection of images helps to tell the success story of UW-Eau Claire responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. With forward-thinking and cautious optimism, Chancellor Schmidt and campus leaders painstakingly planned and coordinated every step of the initial closure through the return to campus for fall and spring semesters — always following CDC and Eau Claire City-County Health Department guidance in putting the health, safety and education of Blugolds first. 

These images are arranged in reverse chronological order because it's just more fun to see the best news first — the vaccines! Photo credits here and throughout the Blugold View pages to the talented and dedicated campus photography professionals, Bill Hoepner and Shane Opatz. 

Staying connected to the Blugold family

The UW-Eau Claire Alumni Association and Foundation both exist to promote and enhance the overall success of Blugold students and graduates. As you enjoy the inspiring stories shared in this 2021 Blugold View collection, consider growing your own connection to campus through these two organizations. One thing that has become clear to everyone over the last year is that living out our values is central to happiness and lifelong success. Staying connected to UW-Eau Claire, a place that helped to forge your future, is an excellent way to live out the value you place on education.

  • Alumni Association Alumni Association provides ways to stay connected to the Blugold spirit, from both near and far.
  • UW-Eau Claire Foundation The Foundation and dedicated donors are the key to unlocking the boundless potential of Blugolds.
  • Give now Extraordinary impact, one gift at a time
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